The Strength of the Senju
by FlamingBlaze
Summary: When Naruto Senju is born as an accident between Minato and Tsunade, his death is faked, and instead lives under the name Naruto Uzumaki. However, when his Kekkei Genkai develops, the secrets begin to unravel...and how would life play out for Naruto now?
1. The Bell Test

**Sorry, but I skipped the part where Tsunade gets pregnant and etc, because I thought you guys would like it more if I skipped it, as it's basically just arguing and stuff after Minato gets Tsunade pregnant.**

**And just to clear things up, Tsunade doesn't know Naruto exists, so he has none of her traits/personality. The reason the Kyuubi escaped when Kushina Uzumaki wasn't pregnant will be revealed later on. On another note, the reason Hiruzen let Danzo do what he wanted is because he was forced to by Danzo's threat-he would've gotten the council onto it. Keeping the argument going would just take longer, and threaten Naruto's life as his existence would be known by more people. Thank you.**

**Inspired by The Hope of the Senju Clan by Aragon Potter**

"Tsunade-sama…the Fourth Hokage is dead."  
Tsunade's eyes widened in shock, but the silence didn't last long. "Dammit! I at least wanted to kill him for what he did to me…"  
The nurse paused, well aware that Tsunade was not going to receive the next part of her message well, and the Slug Princess was legendary for her bouts of anger. "Tsunade-sama…I'm sorry, but the Fourth Hokage has sealed the Nine Tailed Demon Fox into your son…"

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING WITH ME?!" Tsunade screamed, her voice echoing through the hospital and forcing the nurse a step back in fear. "DOES HE KNOW WHAT KIND OF LIVES JINCHURIKI LIVE? WHAT HAS HE DONE TO OUR SON?"  
The nurse flinched, and she was about to deliver a sympathetic reply when a hand was laid on her shoulder. She looked back to see the Third Hokage behind her, gesturing for her to leave the room.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" The Slug Princess screamed in pure rage and frustration, and the windows cracked under the assault of her voice. Hiruzen Sarutobi winced, and he tried to steady himself and not show his fear.

"Um…Tsunade, I'm very sorry, but as you heard, Minato's dead, so please stop this rage…"  
The blonde took a deep breath, and tried to regain her composure. "Very well…but right now I demand to see my son," and with that she tried to get off of the hospital bed. Hiruzen rushed over and stopped her, "No, Tsunade. You need rest."  
Tsunade growled. "No, I don't! I demand to see my son!"

"How about you stay here and rest, Tsunade, while I'll go tell them to bring your son."

Tsunade nodded, and Hiruzen exited the room. The Third Hokage walked down the hallway and entered the room at the end of the hall.

There was a man in the room along with the child and the nurse, and Hiruzen's ninja instincts kicked in, shifting into a fighting position while stepping back out of the room.

The man chuckled, and he turned around, allowing Hiruzen to see half of his face was obscured by white bandages and his right arm was slung in a white cast. The man's black robe grazed the floor.

Hiruzen's eyes narrowed, but he didn't shift from his position. "Danzo…what are you doing here?"

Danzo gestured for the nurse to exit before he glanced at him disbelievingly, like he had said something that he didn't understand. "Hiruzen, now is not the time for your jokes. A son of Minato Namikaze and Tsunade Senju, and you think I wouldn't get wind of it?"

The Third Hokage got out of his position, but didn't ease up much, "Cut to the chase. What do you want? If you want the child, it's not happening."

Danzo chuckled again, and the Third Hokage felt a significant amount of annoyance. "Oh, I don't want the child. At least, not yet. What I want you to do for me is tell Tsunade her son is dead."

"Y-you're joking!" Hiruzen spluttered. "Why on earth would I do that?"

The Root Commander spoke, looking on at the newborn blonde boy. "This child is the heir to the Senju Clan, and will undoubtedly be a valuable asset to the village as he is also a Jinchuriki. If we tell your student over there," Danzo looked past Hiruzen into the corridor. "That her son is dead, then the Senju heir will be the village's to nurture, instead of undoubtedly hiding in the various other countries and posing the threat of having him fall into enemy hands."  
Hiruzen walked over and looked at him with a stare that would've made Tsunade flinch. "If you think I'll do this, then you've got another thing coming, Danzo."  
The one eyed man chuckled again, and he replied: "Oh, Sarutobi, but you will. If I tell the council, then they will be on my side. You're merely delaying the inevitable, and if I tell the council, a lot more people will get wind of that he's Senju."

The Third Hokage continued his glare, but Danzo showed no sign of backing down. Their staring match continued, and boy, was it intense. You could've cut the tension in the room with a knife, it was so thick. Danzo showed no sign of backing down; in fact, he seemed completely unfazed by the unwavering gaze, and his eyelids dropped lazily.

"If you're done here, Hiruzen," Danzo said, his voice emotionless, "We have a mother to console."

Hiruzen continued his stare. "And if she chooses to examine the child?"

The Root Commander motioned at the still child. "We've given the child a unique concoction that simulates death. Not even the greatest medical-nin would be able to see through it."

The Third Hokage gaped at Danzo, "Are you insane?! He's only a child! Who knows what effects it could have on his body!"

"There will be no post-effects. I've had Konoha's best medical-nins examine it."

"What do you plan to do with the child, then? Who will raise him? Have you considered this?"

"I have. His surname will be changed from Senju to Uzumaki, and he will be told that his parents died in the Nine Tails attack. A select few will know that his father is Minato Namikaze, but no one will know of Tsunade's involvement. We will keep a close eye on the child."

"I'm not telling her that her son's dead."

"That will be fine. I've arranged for a nurse here to." Danzo walked over to the doorway before gesturing for a nurse to go into Tsunade's room, before he himself disappeared down the hallway. "People will be here soon to deal with the child."

The Third Hokage stood, there speechless, trying to think of something to do, but nothing came to his mind. Try as he might, he realized Danzo had him in a headlock, and he was right.

A sharp scream echoed across the hallway, and Hiruzen braced himself. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY SON'S DEAD?! I DEMAND TO SEE HIM RIGHT THIS INSTANT! GET OUT OF MY WAY, YOU REDUNDANT HIPPO!" There was a loud crash, a rumble, and he looked out of the doorway to see a scary-no, terrifying-Tsunade stomp down the hall; even in her hospital nightgown, she was a sight to a fear and with every step the floor cracked. Her face was a deep shade of red and she came straight through the door, knocking it off its hinges, ignoring her Sensei, and walked right over to stare at her child and with one motion swept him up into her arms.

Hiruzen averted his eyes and closed his ears to what was going to happen next, and soon, there was a broken Sannin crying for her son to come back

Nurses and doctors came in to resist, and the Slug Princess didn't even resist as they dragged her away while the Third Hokage glanced at the child; and he noticed a fresh scar on his back, still bleeding slightly.

_Tsunade…_

* * *

**Twelve Years Later**

"Alright, class dismissed! Don't forget tomorrow is when you get to meet your new sensei!"

There was a general chorus of "Yes sir" and "We're out!" before the class ran straight out the door, eager to get out of the school and back home. There were only three members of the class that weren't caught up in the excitement of the others.

The first was Shikamaru Nara, and he yawned, stretching in his chair before getting up lazily. _Troublesome,_ he thought, before scratching his head and exiting the classroom slowly.

The second was Sasuke Uchiha, and boy, he almost showed interest in nothing but getting strong. With his good looks and cold personality, he was one out of two of the most desirable boys in the class, but the only thing Sasuke was interested in was getting stronger.

The third was Naruto Uzumaki, who was good mannered outwardly but had a vicious knack for playing pranks on those he didn't like-but one thing: he always got away with them. Naruto's outwardly cool demeanor made it impossible for people to pin the blame on him, and due to this he was the other most desirable boy in the class, rivaling Sasuke with his popularity. Unlike Sasuke, thought, he could be warm and kind at times.

Sasuke didn't even glance at Naruto before exiting the room coolly, his hands in his pockets, and his attitude often pissed people off. They would often go off on a rant about how Sasuke shouldn't look down on others, but truthfully the Uchiha heir just ignored them like with everyone else.

However, Sasuke's attitude didn't bother Naruto, who exited out of the room last. He knew the Uchiha was just like that and it didn't bother him in the slightest, because it was his belief that Sasuke's attitude would backfire on himself in the end, anyway.

_Now…what did I have to do today again? Tomorrow's the exam, so I'll go treat myself to my Ramen._

Naruto exited the Academy building, watching the other kids getting picked up by their parents and ranting about what they had done in school today, or, in Shikamaru's case, asking if his bed was ready for him when they got home. The Uzumaki watched on with a twinge of sadness, contemplating his lack of parents and orphan life.

Naruto still remembered the times when he tried to get an answer out of the old man on who his parents were, but all he got out was a curt answer:  
"Your parents were great shinobi that died in the attack of the Nine Tails."  
Naruto had even tried pressing Miyuki for an answer, but she was left speechless and just told him she didn't know.

The young blonde sighed, and he returned his mind to his surroundings as he watched children laugh and play with their parents on the streets of Konoha as he continued on his way to Ichiraku Ramen. Naruto caught a glance of himself in the mirror in the back of an open shop, and he smiled. _Not too bad looking, after all._ He joked with himself.

With his spiky blonde hair, piercing blue eyes and high cheekbones, Naruto wasn't bad looking, after all. The blonde ninja noticed the back of his orange Uzumaki T-Shirt was ruffled, so he adjusted it a bit and pulled it out of the back of his cargo shorts. Along with an orange T-Shirt and cargo shorts, his outfit also consisted of navy blue ninja sandals and a circular band around each of his calves, just above his sandals, while his ninja headband was wrapped around his forehead.

"Hey, Naruto!" Ayame greeted in her typical chef's uniform. "What'll it be today?"

"Just Pork Ramen with Chicken Soup, please." Naruto replied, pushing away the embroidered flaps and sitting down on a stool.

"Alright! It'll be just a minute!" And sure enough, it was just a minute before the ramen arrived, steaming and scrumptious, before Naruto. He grinned before digging in enthusiastically, spearing large lumps of noodles and shoving them into his mouth and only stopping to breathe.

_The taste never gets old, _Naruto thought, savoring the delicious taste of the steaming noodles. _I could come here for every meal and not get sick!_

"Really, Naruto?" A feminine voice giggled. "I'd like to see you try." Naruto quickly realized he had blurted his thoughts out loud, before turning to see a beautiful young woman enter the shop.

The newcomer was a black-haired girl who looked absolutely stunning in her white silk dress, with her hair cut evenly in the middle, pale skin, blue-grey eyes, and slim arms and legs. Her face was almost perfectly symmetrical, and all these along with her curvaceous body attracted a lot of members of the opposite sex. **(A/N: Go to my profile to see what Miyuki looks like, but her outfit is not necessarily correct)**

"Hey, Miyuki." Naruto grinned from ear to ear, examining her body. "You're looking great today."

Miyuki laughed, and she sat herself next to Naruto. "So how's it going, little Uzumaki?"

"Oh, it's fine." The blonde was obviously happy about Miyuki's arrival, and he made it no secret. "The exam was easy, and we get to meet our new sensei tomorrow!"

"Is that right?" Naruto's female companion smiled. "That's great!"

Naruto nodded before immediately digging back into his ramen, resuming to shoveling large noodles in his mouth while Miyuki watched on, smiling. Miyuki and Naruto had been together almost since they were born, and they were best friends. Although Miyuki was two years older than Naruto, they treated each other like equals and she often joked, "You were born so I could have a companion."

Teuchi, Ayame's father, noticed the newcomer. "Would you like something, too?"  
"I'll just have a small bowl of Chicken Ramen, please."

The blonde ninja looked up from his bowl, something occurring to him. "Why're you here? I thought you would be off with your team doing missions…"  
Miyuki placed her bowl of Ramen on her counter, eating slowly while pausing to answer Naruto's question. "Oh, we had a day off today because Genma Sensei had an arrangement that he refused to tell any of us about."

"Really," The young Uzumaki asked. "Was it a date?"

"That's what Izumo and Ryu both thought, but it turns out it was an Icha Icha convention."

Naruto cringed at the thought of the Icha Icha books. _I don't get why they find those books good… _"Anyway, Naruto, you should rest early today, as you're meeting your new sensei early in the morning tomorrow."

Miyuki's blonde companion nodded in agreement.

* * *

It had been two hours already, and their sensei had shown no sign of showing up yet. Sakura sighed.

"My god, when will our sensei arrive?"

Naruto eyed the pink-haired girl warily from the back of the room. "How many times, do I have to tell you this? Just sit back and relax already! When he arrives, we'll know." He said, indicating the chalkboard eraser that was situated above the door.

"That's a bad idea, Naruto!" Sakura said. "Our sensei won't like us then!"

Naruto sighed, settling back in his chair.

All of a sudden, the door opened, and a loud voice burst out: "Sorry I'm la-" before a peculiar clonking sound reverberated from the doorway. A certain blonde ninja snickered in his seat, while Sakura cried: "I'm sorry, sensei! It was Naruto! I tried to stop him!"

As their sensei entered the room, allowing Naruto to get an eyeful of him, he face palmed dramatically. He was wearing his Konoha ninja headband around his forehead, but it was slanted so that it covered his right eye while the rest of his body was covered by a Konoha flak jacket, shinobi pants, ankle bands, and sandles that exposed the back of his foot. Half of his face was obscured by a dark blue ninja mask.

Their sensei said one thing: "I'm Kakashi Hatake, your new sensei. Meet me on the roof." Saying that, smoke shot up from the ground and consumed him, and when the smoke was gone he had disappeared.

Sakura spluttered. "The nerve of him! He makes us wait for 2 hours and then he ditches us to meet on the roof! If I get my hands on him I'll make sure he regrets he was ever born…" She continued on, so enwrapped in her own imagination that she failed to notice Naruto and Sasuke had already gone ahead onto the roof.

"…That'll teach him to never be late again!" She cried, but as she looked around the pink haired kunoichi noticed her teammates had disappeared. "Oh, shit…" Sakura said to herself before sprinting through the door.

* * *

"Well, now, why don't we start off by introducing ourselves?" Kakashi said. "Tell us your name, likes, dislikes, your dreams for the future, and your hobbies. I'll start. I'm Kakashi Hatake, and well…I like Jiraiya's books, dogs, and good food. I dislike…cats, bad food, and spears. I've never really thought about a dream, and my hobbies include reading Icha Icha and I don't want to say the rest….Now you." Kakashi pointed at Naruto.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and I like Ramen, playing pranks," At this both Sakura and Kakashi narrowed their eyes, "my friends, and training. I dislike traitors, weaklings that hide behind words, and bullies. My dream for the future is for everyone to acknowledge me and become Hokage! My hobbies include training and sleeping."

Sasuke scoffed, and seeing it was his turn, said: "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I hate a lot of things, and don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I'm going to restore my clan, and kill a certain someone."

The young Uchiha's statement elicited a short silence as all of them considered his words. Kakashi sighed inwardly, Sakura swooned over him while thinking how her Sasuke was so cool, and Naruto felt that Sasuke should lighten up a bit.

Sakura realized it was her turn, and she said hurriedly: "I'm Sakura Haruno and my likes are…" At this, the pink haired girl giggled and glanced at Sasuke, "my hobbies are beating Ino Yamanaka, and…" At this she looked at Sasuke again, "I dislike Ino-pig and spicy things and my dream for the future is…" When she came to that, she giggled loudly and blushed.

Kakashi sighed. _Great, a fan girl. _"Well, anyway, there'll be a test tomorrow morning, so I expect you all to be at the Second Training Ground at 7:00 AM sharp. See you all tomorrow." With another poof, and the Jonin disappeared.

* * *

It had been two hours since 7:00 AM, and the three teammates were still waiting on their sensei. Naruto lay on the grass, Sakura sitting on the Memorial Stone steps and glancing at Sasuke occasionally, who was sitting in the grass, unmoving.

Naruto glanced at his watch and he realized it was 9:00 AM already, and he groaned inwardly. "God, how much longer is he going to make us wait?"

Right on cue, there was a loud _poof_ and their white haired sensei appeared in the middle of the grass, looking sheepish.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screamed, getting up. "KAKASHI-SENSEI, WHY ARE YOU LATE?!"

Kakashi looked even more sheepish, if that was even possible, as he rubbed his head. "Sorry. There was a black cat, so I had to take the long way around."

This response caused the pink-haired kunoichi to face palm, while Naruto and Sasuke were secretly wondering if this guy was really a Jonin.

"Anyway, I call this test 'The Bell Test." I have two bells here, and your goal is to get these bells from me through any means necessary. At noon, you have a one third chance of getting a bell if you don't have one already, and if you have a bell then you get lunch. If you fail to get a bell, then you will be sent back to the academy." Kakashi said, and at this he set the clock in his hand for noon. "Now…start!"

In an instant, the three ninja had disappeared into the trees to the sides of the clearing. _Now…they only need to reveal themselves._

* * *

Hiding between the leaves of two bushes was a certain young Uchiha, and he was watching Kakashi's every move and trying to come up with the best way to get some bells off Kakashi.

_Hmm…there's no way I would win in a head-to-head battle. I'll have to try to distract him so I can cut across and get a bell off of him._

Sasuke prepared himself, drawing a kunai from the holster strapped to his pants before launching forward at a high speed, straight towards Kakashi. _I've got you, _the young Uchiha thought smugly.

Much to his surprise, however, Kakashi grabbed his wrist when he came into range and then slammed him straight onto the ground, and Sasuke gasped both in surprise and pain. He tossed his kunai into his free left hand, and Sasuke jabbed upwards only for Kakashi to grab that wrist too and flip Sasuke into the air.

The Uchiha heir cursed, flinging the kunai as he flipped backwards and twisting his body to land lightly on his feet. _Dammit! Monkey-Boar-Horse-Tiger, _Sasuke thought as he formed a few hand seals to channel his chakra.

Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise as he recognized the handseal sequence he was performing, and the Copy Cat Ninja prepared himself for the incoming fireball.

"**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**" Sasuke shouted, his chest expanding before he exhaled a ball of orange fire at Kakashi, who in return formed a hand seal and disappeared into the ground, completely avoiding the attack.

When the smoke and flames finally cleared, there was a large burn mark seared into the ground and dead grass, but no Kakashi. Sasuke immediately realized he had avoided his jutsu, and he launched himself into the air just in time as a hand emerged from the ground to grab the Uchiha, missing narrowly by two inches before Sasuke landed on a tree. Kakashi saw that there was no more reason to hide and he emerged from the earth, completely unscathed.

_Impressive, _Kakashi thought. _He's newly out of the academy and he can already mold elemental chakra._

The Uchiha heir growled, and drawing six shuriken, he tossed them at Kakashi before quickly charging at him. Kakashi parried the shuriken away with the metal on his fingerless gloves before blocking a normally arm-numbing kick from Sasuke, but not for Kakashi. The Copy Cat ninja spun Sasuke and threw a punch, only for it to be caught and for Sasuke to launch himself off of his fist to a few meters away. Sasuke cursed. _Shit, this is going to be harder that I thought it was. _He growled and he charged, throwing a sideways right hook and taking advantage of Kakashi holding back to launch a barrage of punches and occasionally a sweep kick.

_He's using the fourth Academy taijutsu style, just like his file said. _Kakashi thought. _It allows agility and finesse to set your opponent off balance, but it needs work. I'd say the old Bukkjutsu and Hasaiken style would suit him better._

After a few minutes of effortlessly avoiding all of Sasuke's attacks, Kakashi drew back his fist and jabbed in for an abdomen hit, but much to his surprise, it was barely blocked. However, his intention wasn't to hit him in the first place, and he formed a hand seal with his left hand and jumped back, much to his opponent's confusion. **Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation**_!_ Kakashi thought, finishing the hand seals.

"What the-" His words were cut off as he suddenly found himself neck deep in the ground, and he cursed as he realized what Kakashi had done. "Dammit…"

"Now you wait here while I go take care of your teammates." Kakashi said, kneeling and patting his head.

"REALLY?" A voice cried and the Copy Cat ninja pushed himself out of the way to barely dodge a flying kick that had come from the air. "Let me see how you 'take care' of us."

Naruto said, grinning.

Kakashi sighed, rubbing his head. _I should get this finished quickly so I can get back to the book._

While Naruto was grinning outwardly, he was worried inside. _I saw his fight with Sasuke, and it seems he can go underground and trap us in the ground. As long as I'm aware of my surroundings and retreat to the trees at times, I won't be caught by his Earth Release techniques._

The opponents stood, analyzing their enemy and preparing for the right moment to start the attack.

Kakashi's eye twitched.

Naruto grinned even wider. "Come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough."

Kakashi sighed, and he delivered a powerful right roundhouse kick that sent the blonde ninja stumbling with its pure force. Naruto was sent on the defensive almost instantly, barely blocking all of his white haired sensei's attacks.

_Shit, it's only a matter of time before I'm defeated, _Naruto thought desperately as he ducked under a sharp fist. _I have to change this to a ninjutsu battle._

The Uzumaki blonde was interrupted in his thoughts as Kakashi punched him to the ground, sending him rolling backwards with not a small amount of curses. _Crap, I'll have to use that new jutsu I discovered!_

Naruto flipped backwards, using his hands to launch himself backwards onto a tree and prepare his jutsu. He brought his hands together, forming the rat seal and then forming the snake seal quickly, bringing his hands together.

"Take this!" Naruto shouted, and from the tree he was standing on several projectiles emerged, and they shot out towards Kakashi.

Kakashi's eyes widened, and his senses shifted into overdrive as he jumped up and dodged the first wooden projectile, and he watched the projectile hit the ground, and then expand as branches shot out from the center. The copy cat ninja barely had time to fling a kunai with full force at the next projectile to parry it, before crying out: "**Earth Release: Mud Wall!**" and placed his hand on the ground and channeling chakra, forcing a huge mud wall to grow out of the ground and block the projectiles.

_No doubt about it, that was the Senju Clan's Wood Release Kekkei Genkai!_ Kakashi thought in astonishment. _But how can he use it?! He's an Uzumaki! Even though the Uzumaki clan are related to the Senju, even in the Senju Clan, it's only activated in less than a fourth of their members! _Kakashi pushed aside those thoughts for later before jumping over the wall and shouting: "**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**"

From his spot in the ground, Sasuke watched on in shock as his sensei blew out a huge flaming ball of fire, no doubt surprised at the fact that he could also use that technique. "I'm further behind than I thought," Sasuke said to himself.

Meanwhile, Naruto leaped, jumping onto another tree and avoiding the ball of fire. "Again!" He said, and formed the snake hand seal. "Let's see how you dodge this now!" Once again, wooden projectiles shot out of the tree and straight towards the Copy Cat ninja, forcing him on the defensive as he rolled and flipped out of the way. The blonde ninja concentrated further on his chakra, forcing it into the tree and launching the projectiles at his sensei once again. _I can't keep this up for much longer, _Naruto thought, and when the projectiles left the tree again, he jumped, kunai in hand, straight towards Kakashi with a war scream. The blonde swung his kunai, only for his wrist to be caught, his Jonin sensei smashing him into the ground while Naruto cursed.

"Dispel!" Naruto screamed from his spot on the ground, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_A shadow clone! _Kakashi thought in astonishment. _That's a B-Rank jutsu, how the hell does a Genin like him know it?  
_"Taste this Kakashi," Naruto shouted as he charged out of the tree, a kunai in each hand. He threw the one in his left hand while slashing downwards with his right, but the Copy Cat ninja disappeared suddenly, leaving only a faint after-image for a second after he disappeared.

_What the… _Naruto thought, surprised. _A Body Flicker? _He stopped in his tracks, spinning around and looking at his surroundings. He didn't spot another person, except for Sasuke from his place in the ground, and he turned back in confusion, getting up from his fighting stance, a crucial mistake during a battle between shinobi-one that gave an opportunity to his white haired sensei.

"**Taijutsu Secret Art: A Thousand Years of Death!**" A voice from behind Naruto shouted, and suddenly the blonde genin felt an indescribable pain in his buttcrack, and his eyes widened.

"AAAAAGGGHHH!" Naruto screamed, flying up into the air, hands holding his buttocks with eyes wide like saucers, and to make the situation worse, he farted. The blonde ninja made a wide arc in the air, the methane propelling him forward and finally landing him next to Sasuke, unconscious.

Kakashi sweat-dropped, not a bit amused at these events, and he began scratching his head again while thinking, _Hmph. That's another one done. _He pulled out his Icha Icha book, and walked away to wander the training ground, looking for Sakura with Sasuke face planting from his hole in the ground.

Not ten minutes later, they heard a very, very girly scream come from inside the forest.

* * *

"Aaagh…Finally!" Sasuke muttered, getting out of the hole in the ground and patting himself to get the dirt off. "I thought I'd never get out of there!"

Naruto, who was lying in the grass, still unconscious, caught his eye. _Hmph…he's actually pretty good._

The Uchiha heir growled, and he jumped off into the air, in search of Kakashi. He didn't have to look long, because he saw his sensei walking in the clearing towards Naruto, scratching his head like normal and looking at the ground. _This is going to catch you off guard, Kakashi!_ Sasuke thought, dropping down through the air and pivoting so his foot would make contact first.

Much to his surprise, Kakashi dodged the attack, and his foot struck the ground and left a huge footprint there, definitely surprising Kakashi with its sheer strength. Sasuke snarled before using his left arm to perform a hammerfist, forcing Kakashi onto the defensive and giving him the advantage. "Take this!" Sasuke shouted, flipping up and kicking down several times before landing and punching, but it was blocked and the Copy Cat ninja spun him upside down; however the Uchiha had expected this, and cried out: "**Fire Release: Rose Bloom**!", forming the tiger seal, and as soon as he did both of his hands were consumed by flowering flames, forcing Kakashi back and allowing the Uchiha to recover.

_Damn, that's impressive, he's created his own Fire Release technique, _Kakashi thought in surprise. _He's definitely an Uchiha, there's no saying what he'll be able to do in his later years._

Sasuke snarled, forming the tiger seal again and crying out "**Fire Release: Rose Bloom!**" and charging forward, throwing numerous punches while the Copy Cat ninja was forced to dodge. _Good, I've got him on the defensive, _thought Sasuke before forming another few hand seals. "**Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!**" Sasuke shouted, blowing a huge ball of fire straight towards him, however Kakashi merely jumped up, completely avoiding the attack. The Copy Cat ninja formed several hand seals with rapid speed, shouting: "**Water Release: Gunshot!**", whilst spitting out several water bullets, all the size of cannonballs. The water bullets struck the fire head-on and extinguished it on contact, and the remaining bullets slammed into the ground and formed holes three feet deep where they struck.

Sasuke's eyes widened as he looked at the massive holes the water bullets had caused, and he decided that he would _definitely _have to be mindful of that later on.

As Kakashi landed, Sasuke didn't let up, charging forward and immediately resuming their Taijutsu battle. While Sasuke had the ferocity and strength of a tiger, Kakashi had the experience and skill of a battle-worn Jonin, even if he was holding back. Bit by bit, the battle began to turn in the favor of a certain white haired Jonin.

_Shit, I can't keep this up for long… _Sasuke thought, and he tried to formulate a plan. _I can't win in a Taijutsu battle, and since my Ninjutsu is far below him…I'll have to try activating the clan's technique… _The Uchiha did a backwards flip, dodging all incoming attacks and moving out of the range of his opponent's Taijutsu attacks. Kakashi narrowed his eyes, wondering what the hell his student was going to try next.

Sasuke stood back, and he formed the tiger seal to channel his chakra.

"Shinobi Lesson #41: Any jutsu is useless if you don't have the time required to perform it," Kakashi said, charging forward and resuming the Taijutsu battle, eliciting a sharp growl from Sasuke. _Dammit, he's right! I have to find a way to distract him._

Sasuke broke apart the hand seal, reaching into his ninja pouch to pull out two smoke bombs, which he smashed against the ground immediately. _This way he can't see me, but just to be sure-_**Substitution Jutsu!** There was a small white puff in the purple smoke, and the raven haired genin was replaced by a small wooden log.

_Hmm…using the smoke as a cover to get away from me and buy time to complete that technique of his…not bad. _Kakashi thought, unmoving in the smoke. _I'll just wait here now…_

Meanwhile, Sasuke was sitting behind a tree on the outskirts of the clearing, panting heavily from his battle with Kakashi and the hits he had landed. _I was lucky I lasted as long as I did, _Sasuke thought before forming the tiger seal again and beginning to channel his chakra. He withdrew the chakra from the other parts of his body, instead focusing them on his eyes while allowing a minimum flow of chakra to the other parts of his body after he felt he had a decent amount of chakra situated in his eyes. _This is harder than I thought, _Sasuke thought while straining to maintain the chakra level needed at his eyes. _I haven't been able to activate it and initiate that technique since last year._

Suddenly, he felt a welcome and familiar sensation, and he opened his eyes, which were now a bright shade of red, with one black tomoe circling the black pupil in the center.

_I've activated it! _Sasuke thought in excitement. _I can feel it! It's more powerful than before. However, let's give myself an edge and make it look like I don't have it on. _**Transformation Jutsu!**

A puff of smoke exploded from the Uchiha, and when the smoke had cleared, there was a Sharingan-less Sasuke with a genuine smile on his face.

* * *

"It's been five minutes already…" Kakashi whined to himself, looking at his watch. "When'll that Sasuke come out?"

"I'm right here!" A voice erupted from the forest. "Take this!"

Kakashi immediately turned to look to his right, and he spotted Sasuke charging towards him, arms trailing behind and with a determined look on his face. _I guess the Uchiha really are a stubborn lot. I mean, can we just hurry this up already? Hum. Listen to myself. I doubt this is a healthy psyche for a sensei._

"Hiya!" Sasuke cried, launching a kick that his opponent dodged with ease. _But then again, when your students are trying to beat the crap out of you, it's pretty hard to keep a healthy psychological state._

The young Uchiha launched another kick at him, and the Copy Cat ninja twisted to keep out of the way-but this time, the kick glanced off of his abdomen, which was surprising, to say the least.

_The way that kick was aimed…it shouldn't have been able to even touch me, much less hit me. _Kakashi narrowed his eyes, all thoughts gone from his teacher-student relationship thought rant. _What technique of his did he prepare, exactly?_

Even though the kick had barely hit Kakashi, much less hurt him, the Uchiha grinned, obviously pleased that something of his had made contact. Within seconds, he had resumed his attack, which was growing more furious and fiercer by the seconds.

_Ooooh, shit, _thought Kakashi as he barely dodged a well timed kick and follow-up punch.. _Damn, this kid's gotten good in the past five minutes. Steroids? Wait, I don't think they have those in the ninja arsenals now anymore. _He was once again interrupted by his thoughts by a punch that he pushed away gently, but it had grazed his elbow. _Oh, well. Time to counterattack._

Kakashi began pushing forward, launching a quick barrage of punches and kicks that were accurate, and caused quite a bit of pain, but wouldn't cause any lasting damage…_I hope. _Kakashi thought, finishing up with a side-kick with his left leg.

Surprisingly, when he looked down, however, the Uchiha was a bit disgruntled by the attack, but he had no bruises and it didn't look like any of his attacks had made contact. _What the hell… _Kakashi guessed that his surprise had shown on his face, because Sasuke grinned and he launched his offensive once again, showing up with a sharp punch-

_Brrriinnnnnngggg!_

* * *

Kakashi pulled out the two bento lunches, and looked at them. "OK, so the two people who get to eat are Naruto and Sasuke, as they put up the best fight," He said tossing the lunches to those two while grabbing Sakura. "Sorry, Sakura, but you'll have to be tied up here until the afternoon session starts." Saying that, Kakashi tied the pink haired kunoichi up in a flash and was gone, but not before saying: "If I catch any of you guys sharing your lunch with Sakura, you're dead." And giving them all a scary look, making both Naruto and Sasuke recoil and Sakura scream in desperation.

When their sensei had left, both Naruto and Sasuke had begun digging into their bento lunches while a certain Haruno girl was forced to watch on, drooling. The two were both halfway into their lunches before they noticed their female teammate moaning and looking on hungrily.

Naruto sighed, and he looked at his food, and then at Sakura. "Dammit…"

Meanwhile, Sasuke had no such reservations. "We have no choice," He said, looking at Naruto. "In order to succeed in the afternoon session, we have to be full in order to do our best." He forked some food, and fed it to Sakura, whose eyes were gleaming and her heart was jumping at Sasuke feeding her food.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun! I knew you loved me too…" Sakura muttered in her mind, and Inner-Sakura cried: "Yeah! Sasuke likes me! Cha-cha!"

A certain blonde ninja sighed again, and head down, he shoveled some food up and held it up so Sakura could eat it. Their teammate bit down enthusiastically, devouring the food quickly and with relish.

However, they weren't far into their 'eating-session' when suddenly there was a swirl of leaves and huge puff of smoke, and they all watched on in fear when their Sensei emerged, giving them a demonic look worthy of one of Tsunade's infamous and terrifying looks.

"You all…"

The teammates couldn't tear their eyes from this scene, but they knew very well what was coming. Naruto braced himself, Sasuke's eyes widened, and Sakura let out a very girly whimper.

"Pass!" Kakashi said with a wide grin and a super big thumbs up.

"WHAAATTT?!" The three of them all screamed simultaneously, no doubt surprised by his words.

"You see, this test was all about teamwork. As a team, you always have to be considerate of each other, as that's the only way you'll succeed," Kakashi explained. "OK, now you're all dismissed! Be sure to be on time here tomorrow at 7:00 AM again!" He said, and with that, the team walked off, leaving Sakura still tied up to the pole.

"Hey, untie me!"

* * *

The one-eyed man looked out of the window, admiring-no, observing- the Village Hidden in the Leaves. From his hidden viewpoint, he observed the civilians bustling to and fro, the new buildings being constructed, the birds settling on the rooftops, and last, the Hokage Monument. His eyes narrowed in the familiar look of recognition.

_Click, clack, clickety clack._

There was a flash of black behind him on the narrow wooden walkway that lead to his desk, and Danzo paused his tapping.

"What is it?"

"Danzo-sama…" A Konoha Shinobi was kneeling on the ground, his ANBU mask obscuring his face while his tattoo was plainly visible. "The squad trailing Naruto Uzumaki has made an interesting discovery."

"And that is?"

"Danzo-sama, Team 7, under the leadership of Kakashi, participated in a bell test today. It is a test in which the-"

"I'm well aware of what the bell test is. Continue." Danzo interrupted.

"During the bell test, Naruto Uzumaki created wooden projectiles out of a nearby tree and fired them at Kakashi Hatake, and once the projectiles made contact they expanded into a number of small and sharp branches."

"Is it the Senju Clan's Wood Release?"  
"It most likely is, Danzo-sama."

"Hmm…do not speak of this to anyone other than me, and tell the ANBU squad that had been following him to forget of this."

As soon as the ANBU shinobi had left, Danzo looked out of the window and his gaze hardened.

_Click, clack. Clickety clack._

Danzo resumed his tapping.

* * *

Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork tiredly, and he could feel the effects of his age wearing down at him like a parasite. _I really will have to retire soon._

"Hokage-sama, Kakashi Hatake is here to see you."

"Let him in."

As the Copy Cat ninja entered the room, Hiruzen allowed himself a small smile as he considered the achievements and abilities of the ninja in front of him. Kakashi Hatake, a formidable fighting force with unrivalled abilities and quick thinking skills that gave him an edge in both combat and diplomacy. He could be a good candidate when the Third Hokage retired.

However, one crucial flaw Hiruzen was aware of was that Kakashi never did like great responsibility, as he was one who liked to take things easy. It would take a lot of convincing to get _him _to be come Hokage.

"What did you want to see me for?" Hiruzen asked, curious to this sudden request. "You made an appointment this time, and Kami knows you never make appointments and arrive on time."

Kakashi chuckled, but his one visible eye was very serious. "It's something about Naruto Uzumaki, Hokage-sama."  
"What is it now?" Hiruzen sighed. Kami, was that boy a troublemaker. Pranks all the time…but worst of all was that he got away with them. He had gotten plenty of complaints accusing a certain blonde ninja of pranking them, but they'd never been able to actually provide any solid evidence of him actually doing it, just further provoking them of their rage. Danzo had even approached him a few times because of this, seeking to recruit Naruto into his Root unit because of his pranking abilities and his ability to get away with it. Of course, Hiruzen had denied him every time. He would be a corpse sooner than letting Danzo recruit him into his organization. "Troublemaker?"  
"No, Hokage-sama. As you know, today I held a bell test with the members of Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno. During the test both Naruto and Sasuke performed spectacularly, but Sakura put up a remarkably pathetic fight, if I can call it that." Hiruzen nodded, obviously aware of Sakura Haruno's skills. "During the test Sasuke Uchiha displayed a jutsu that I have never heard of nor seen before, and I suspect he has activated the Sharingan."

"If that's all you've come to tell me about, Kakashi, then next time you can tell me whenever we meet next."  
"Hokage-sama, that is not what I have come here to tell you. During the fight Naruto Uzumaki displayed the ability to use the Senju Clan's Kekkei Genkai, Wood Release."

At first, the Third Hokage didn't reply, but even he was remarkably surprised, if his face was any hint. His mouth was wide open, the Third Hokage's jaw so far down that Kakashi doubted if the Third Hokage had a jawbone, and he dropped the pen he had been holding.

"W-what?" Hiruzen spluttered. "That's impossible!"

Kakashi nodded. "That was what I thought, too. After Hashirama's death, Wood Release disappeared from the Senju Clan, as he was the last recorded user of the Kekkei Genkai."

"Then…how?" Hiruzen asked, still trying to get over the fact that Naruto Uzumaki could use the Senju Clan's Wood Release.

"It's currently unknown as of now," Kakashi's visible eye narrowed at this point, "But Naruto Uzumaki is an Uzumaki, as his name states. Even though the Uzumaki Clan were related to the Senju Clan, they are too distantly related to inherit the ability. Unless there's something you're not telling me…"  
The Third Hokage regained his businesslike composure. "I do not have any secrets regarding Naruto, if that's what you're implying."

Kakashi didn't reply, but his expression didn't change either.

"Now, I want you to keep an eye on the child. There's no doubt that Danzo has gotten wind of this, and he might make his move. Dismissed."  
The Copy Cat ninja nodded, and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

* * *

**A/N: OK, and that was chapter 1! Yippee…sorry for it being sorta short. I'll try to make it longer next time.**

**One thing that's been bothering me is if I should use the Japanese Romanji for the Jutsu names, and the other things that should be in Romanji. For now I'll be keeping the jutsus in English and keep the suffixes, but if you guys have a preference for the jutsus being in Romanji or English just let me know.**

**Yes, the ending of the bell test was a little rushed before any of you tell me. I'm sorry…hopefully that won't happen again.**

**Suggestions and comments are always welcome, as I do want to become a better writer. Flames…meh. It would be appreciated if you didn't flame me, as I didn't force you to read this…**

**I apologize for any mistakes.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. The Nature Transformations

**Hey, I'm back! I hope that wasn't too long a wait. This chapter…not really crucial stuff but still important. Oh yeah, it's short too. You'll sorta see why it's so short in the second author's note...**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

* * *

Naruto rubbed his butt with a pained expression on his face, and Miyuki, sitting across the room, laughed at his obvious discomfort. "Was it really that bad?" She laughed, covering her mouth to silence any other giggles that might escape.

"You have no idea," Naruto complained. "I've never even seen that before. He called it a Taijutsu Secret Art, but I have absolutely NO idea how that could be considered a secret art. More like a perverted art…" Miyuki giggled slightly, and Naruto glared at her, pissed.

"Well, I'm going to go get some groceries for dinner today," Miyuki excused herself from Naruto's room, and she left through the door quickly, and as soon as she did, Naruto heard her burst into laughter, and the blonde ran to the door quickly, still holding his butt.

"I'll get you for that later!" Naruto shouted angrily, but he heard the front door slam as Miyuki had left the house. "Hmm…what should I do to pass the time?" He mumbled to himself as he stepped into the corridor.

Naruto and Miyuki's apartment wasn't big, but it was homey, and that was what counted, Miyuki always said. It consisted of a small kitchen to the left of the front door, and to the right of that was the living room, which consisted of a big sofa in the middle and a smaller couch to its right. To the right of that was a floor to ceiling window, and in front of the couches was a short glass table. In the between the two rooms was a long wooden corridor (where Naruto was currently standing), with three doors, one of which led to Naruto's room, one led to Miyuki's room, and the third door led to a spacious restroom. The blonde walked over to the living room and took a seat, contemplating what there was to do when a knock on the door interrupted him from his thoughts.

"Who is it?" Naruto shouted, getting up to the door. "Miyuki, you better not be coming back-" he opened the door to find a spiky brown-haired man in a Konoha flak jacket and a forehead protector that framed his face.

"…Can I help you?" Naruto asked politely.

The man looked at him. "I'm Yamato, and I'm here to train you," He said bluntly.

Naruto looked shocked. "Uh…what?"

"I'm Yamato, and I'm here to train you," He repeated. "Can I come in?"

The blonde ninja nodded, dumbstruck, and he let Yamato in before closing the door. "So…you said you were going to train me? In what?" He asked in confusion.

"Ah…well…you can do this, can't you?" Yamato said slowly, as if he thought Naruto was mentally disabled. He raised a palm, and a small wooden doll emerged from his palm. "Create wood, I mean," Yamato added hastily.

Naruto nodded, seeing what he meant. "You mean like this, right?" He placed a hand on the wall, and he made a small wooden pencil-like object come out of the wall. "So you're going to train me in…creating wood?"

Yamato stared at him before chuckling creepily. "Oh, no. I would rather call it…controlling wood. And, as you will see, it has many purposes."

"How did you know I could create-I mean control- wood?" Naruto asked curiously.

Yamato grinned, looking at him with a scary face that made Naruto inch away. "It's a secret. Anyway, it's settled. Tomorrow morning, training ground 1, at 8:00 AM."

"But I have a mission with Kakashi-sensei tomorrow!" Naruto protested.

"Hmm…Then skip it, I'll tell Kakashi that you're occupied, and by the way, this is our little secret…" Yamato said.

"Wait, but how do I know you're not a spy or something or a bandit sent to kill me?" The blonde ninja shouted suddenly, at which Yamato sweat-dropped and made a face.

"If I was really going to kill someone, I doubt it would be you…" He said slowly, "But if you really think that, then go ask Hokage-sama." He looked at his watch. "Oh, crap, I gotta go," Yamato said hurriedly and saying that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

Naruto blinked. _Uh, what the hell was that? Agh, my head hurts now…Guess I should go ask the old man. _He opened the door, and he ran down the stairs hurriedly.

It was noon by now, and the streets were bustling as people were coming out for lunch. Naruto's stomach growled, and he decided he would eat first before heading to the Hokage compound, so he walked over to Ichiraku Ramen, where Teuchi and Ayame greeted him warmly. "What'll it be today, Naruto?"

"Just the Supreme Thursday Special, please," he replied, sitting down. He dug in immediately, but it wasn't long before a loud shout from outside jolted him to attention. The blonde paid for his meal quickly and got out of the stand to find a spiky haired brunette wearing a blue scarf shouting at an older man.

"-I apologize deeply for this incident, Honorable Grandson," The man said, bowing.

"Hmph!" The boy grunted. "Agh, I need to get out of here! I need to train to beat my grandfather!" He stomped straight towards Naruto, and not paying attention to where he was going, rammed straight into the blonde, and he was knocked off his feet. "Ow…watch where you're going, idiot!" He shouted angrily.

"Eh…?" Naruto murmured, picking up Konohamaru by the scruff of the neck. "Who're you? You rammed into me, idiot!"

"How dare you!" Konohamaru shouted angrily. "I'm the Hokage's grandson! Let go of me instantly!" He expected Naruto to drop down and apologize immediately, but he was disappointed.

"So you're the old man's grandson, eh?" The blonde said. "But to be honest, I don't care-" The blonde was suddenly interrupted when a man with a bandanna and round sunglasses landed near him.

"Let go of Konohamaru-sama immediately!" The man shouted, obviously annoyed. "Otherwise I will have to report you!" Naruto glared at him, and dropped the struggling Konohamaru down on the ground unceremoniously.

"Who're you?" He growled.

"Ahem-" The man adjusted his glasses, "I am Ebisu, the trainer of Konohamaru-san, the grandson of the Hokage!" However, he discovered he was talking to nobody, as Naruto had already begun walking away, bored. "Disrespectful rabble…" Ebisu muttered.

"Hey!" Konohamaru shouted, running forward and stopping in front of Naruto. "I'm not done with you yet!"

"What…" Naruto said slowly.

"Konohamaru-san, do not lower yourself and talk to disrespectful commoners like him!" Ebisu interrupted in a loud voice, eliciting a glare from a certain blonde ninja.

"Shut up…" He growled, "I need to go do something, so out of my way!"  
"Hey, you're not going anywhere!" Konohamaru shouted.

"Konohamaru-san, you must come with me!" Ebisu said impatiently.

"Hey…" Naruto was now getting really annoyed by this man, "If the kid doesn't want to go with you, you can't force him!"

"This..is not your problem," Ebisu stated coolly, further pissing Naruto off, and he shouted: "**Sexy Technique!**", and a large amount of smoke was suddenly emitted from that spot, and when the smoke had cleared, there was a beautiful (and obviously, sexy) blonde girl standing there-but most importantly, she was naked. The surrounding men looked on in shock for a few moments, before a large spurt of blood shot from their noses, and they all flew into the air-and Ebisu highest of all.

"Woah…" Konohamaru looked on in awe of how the blonde ninja had 'defeated' his trainer in one move, "No way!" He turned to look for the blonde, who had already begun to walk away, and the short brunette sprinted forward to stop him again. "Hey, show me how to do that technique!" Konohamaru shouted eagerly. "I need to learn it to defeat my grandfather!"

"If I teach you it, will you leave me alone?" Naruto groaned, to which Konohamaru nodded furiously. "Alright...I'll teach you it, but first, let's get to somewhere secluded."

* * *

The sun was setting now, and it was shading the sky beautiful colors of orange and red. Konohamaru panted, tired, before finally collapsing on the grass. "Dang…it took so long to master this jutsu!" The two ninja lay on the grass, chests heaving furiously while they regained their strength.

"Say…kid, what's your name?" Naruto panted tiredly, "I don't even know your name yet."

"It's…Konohamaru Sarutobi, future Hokage…" The short brunette said, turning his head to look at the blonde. "What's yours?"

Naruto snorted, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki-but don't you forget it, I'm going to be the Hokage!"  
"Hey!" Konohamaru protested, "I'm going to be the Hokage! That's the only way people will recognize me as who I am, not the Third Hokage's grandson…but as the Hokage, strongest ninja in the village and the person who defeated the Third Hokage! People always call me Honorable Grandson," Konohamaru said bitterly, "Whenever I achieve something, they always say, 'Well, he is the Hokage's grandson, or It's only natural that he can do that," and they never recognize me as who I am! If I find a way to defeat my grandfather, they will recognize me, and I'll be Hokage!" He finished proudly.

Naruto got up on his arms, and he looked at his student intently. "Tell you what, Konohamaru, the reason I want to be Hokage is because I want to be recognized. Everyone…just seems to ignore me. They call me things like demon and fox brat…" He said, looking at the sunset. "But then, some people do accept me…like the old man," Naruto's voice was very soft now, and he continued. "He protects me when people try to beat on me, and I always admired him, because he always tried to protect others and how people recognize him…That's why I want to become Hokage, so everyone will recognize me!" He continued, "The path to Hokage isn't easy, that's obvious. I may be a lot of things but I'm not stupid, and look around you," Naruto gestured around him, and for the first time Konohamaru noticed that there were multiple shuriken and kunai embedded into the trees, and on one of the trunks he saw what looked like dried blood where a lot of the bark had been torn off. "The path to Hokage isn't by defeating the current one using a dirty trick; it's to get stronger, and protect everyone," Naruto finished proudly.

_That was a pretty good speech, _Naruto thought, _And I didn't even think of it beforehand. I didn't know I had a knack for those…_ Meanwhile, Konohamaru was looking at him with wide eyes as his words sunk in. It was silent for a while as the two brooded silently.

Finally, Konohamaru broke the silence; "You're right, Naruto-niijan!" He exclaimed suddenly, "To become Hokage, you have to become strong!"

"Niijan?" The blonde murmured, "I could get used to that…"

Konohamaru wasn't listening, and instead he was exclaiming, "I'm going to go train and get strong now!".

Far away, in an office, Hiruzen Sarutobi chuckled as he observed the scene through the crystal ball.

"Crap!" Naruto called out suddenly, "I've got to go! Miyuki will kill me if I'm late for dinner!" Konohamaru didn't even seem to notice, so Naruto leaped into the trees with a rustle and began his journey home.

* * *

"Ah…so where shall we start?" Yamato murmured. "Oh, yes. Alright, Naruto, show me how you make wood."

Naruto nodded with an affirmative of "Sure, Yamato-sensei!" and he planted a hand into the ground, making a large wooden beam emerge from the ground. Yamato walked around, inspecting it, before something occurred to him.

"Naruto…can you do this?" Yamato made wood come out of his torso to make a large wooden stick. "And by 'this', I mean make wood come out of your body, not create wood."

Naruto made a face, and formed a hand-seal, channeling chakra with his eyes closed. He took a stance, and he stayed unmoving for several long moments before he broke the hand-seal, and he gasped.

"Doesn't look like you can…" Yamato mused, "That's interesting…" He appeared to be in thought, and his student groaned from his spot on the ground.

"Can we hurry up with the training?" Naruto said impatiently.

Yamato nodded. "Alright, we'll start with this; **Water Release: Wild Water Wave!**" He cried, blowing a large wave of water onto the air. "That's your first job; perfect your ability to use that technique."

Naruto nodded, and he formed the Dragon, Tiger, and Hare hand-seals slowly. "**Water Release: Wild Water Wave!**" He cried, and when he opened his mouth…

Nothing came out.

"Whaaaat?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise before forming the hand-seals again. "**Water Release: Wild Water Wave!**" He opened his mouth again, only to get the same result. "Dammit, what's wrong?" The blonde muttered before quickly trying again in vain. "Why can't I do it?" Naruto questioned rhetorically.

"Dang it…**Water Release: Wild Water Wave!**" He cried again, only for the same result. "Ah! I know! Yamato-sensei, can you show me it again?"

The ANBU member nodded, before forming the hand seals quickly, and when he blew, a spurt of water shot out and splashed onto the grass.

"I got it!" Naruto said loudly, forming the hand-seals quickly, but this time, instead of opening his mouth, he blew as hard as he could. Yamato face-palmed, sweat dropping while Naruto blew so hard his face became red. "Dang…I was sure I had gotten it this time!" The blonde growled in frustration.

"Look, Naruto," Yamato interrupted, "I'll give you some tips…it's getting boring watching you doing the same thing over and over again and fail at it…"

"So, anyway, let's start," Yamato clapped his hands together, "First of all, do you know about the Five Chakra Natures?"

"Of course I do-they talked about it in the Academy!" Naruto said. "Fire, Water, Lightning, Wind, Earth. Fire beats Wind, Wind beats Lightning, Lightning beats Earth, Earth beats Water, and Water beats Fire…"

"Correct, but did you learn about the affinities and Kekkei Genkai?" Yamato questioned, his tone slightly reminiscent of a schoolteacher.

Naruto nodded. "I know about the affinities, but nothing about Kekkei Genkai…"

"Alright, well, as you know, every shinobi has an elemental affinity," Yamato lectured, "Most shinobi also have the ability to use other releases, but it won't be as powerful as their affinity. However, there are special ninja that can use something called 'Kekkei Genkai…"

"And…what's that?" The blonde asked.

"Kekkei Genkai are special abilities passed down through families, or in most cases, clans. They can range from Dojutsu, such as the Sharingan and Byakugan, to complicated nature releases such as Scorch Release." Yamato finished slowly.

"Whaaaat?!" Naruto exclaimed in surprise. "What are these complicated nature releases?"

"Complicated nature releases…" Yamato exhaled. "They're combinations of two basic nature releases. For example, Ice Release, a nature release that can manipulate and create Ice, is a combination of the Wind and Water Releases."

"So…what's this got to do with me?" Naruto questioned, confused. "And, now to think of it, why do I have to do that water technique?"

"The truth is, the reason I'm making you practice this is because…your training in 'creating wood', is actually a Kekkei Genkai, or advanced nature release. It's known as Wood Release, and is composed of the two basic nature transformations, Water and Earth." Yamato answered, and his reply elicited a surprised look from his student. _I thought he would've been more surprised…_

"How does this help me?" Naruto asked skeptically.

"When you use Wood Release, you combine two nature releases-Water Release in your right hand, and Earth Release in your left hand. So as of such, if you want to master Wood Release, you have to be able to master the two basic releases first."

"That still doesn't tell me how to do it…"

"Since you are in possession of a Kekkei Genkai, you shouldn't need to go through the basic nature release training like other shinobi. Simply begin with how you mold Wood, and then focus on the water half of it, and mold your chakra into that shape."

Naruto nodded, and he got to work. He felt his chakra flowing through his body, and he began to mold it into wood. _Alright…I guess this is how it would be if I would be using Wood Release…Separate it? How do I do that… I think that classifies as splitting…_**Water Release: Wild Water Wave!** Naruto blew out a significant amount of water that rivaled Yamato's, and he cried out happily, feeling a little pride and sense of accomplishment.

"Took you long enough, Naruto," Yamato said while rubbing his head. "That was just the first technique."

"Whaaaaattt?!"

"If you're going to master Water Release, you'll need to know a lot more than that jutsu."

"Crap…so what's next?" Naruto asked impatiently. "I mean, we should get on with this."

"Next is this…**Water Release: Gunshot!**" Yamato formed some hand seals, opened his mouth, and several large balls of water shot out of his mouth and slammed into the ground, forming small holes. "It shouldn't be hard, considering you've already completed the first exercise," Yamato said.

The blonde merely responded with a nod of the head, before beginning to mold chakra again, _Let's do this…_**Water Release: Gunshot!** He thought while unleashing the water bullets, which slammed into the ground with simultaneous thuds. They hadn't done any noticeable damage to the ground, but that hadn't been the point. "Good job," Yamato appraised. "Next up is another water release technique, and then we'll move on to something new."

"Watch closely, Naruto-**Water Release: Whirlwave!**" Yamato knelt down, holding one palm out while keeping his other hand on the ground, and suddenly a significant amount of water swirled up his hand on the ground onto his arm. It moved to his held-out palm quickly, shooting out in a swirling jet of water that slammed into a tree and left a swirl mark in it when Yamato stopped the technique.

"This one's different. Instead of creating water, you are drawing water from the ground, undergrowth, and plants around you using your chakra as a magnet of sorts. Then you enhance its destructive power when shooting it out by charging your chakra into it."

Naruto grinned, liking the look of this new jutsu, and he quickly mimicked the position Yamato was in. "This one finally looks like a cool one…" He quickly began channeling his chakra again, feeling the water travel up his arms, and he let it burst, only for a small squirt of water to launch off his palm.

The older wood user chuckled quietly, struggling to keep a straight face as his student tried again. "Hey! What're you laughing at?" Naruto shouted, noticing his look.

"Nothing…I think a fly crawled into my throat…" Yamato quickly lied, faking some coughs. Naruto didn't look convinced, but he didn't exactly call him out on it either, and he returned to practicing the jutsu.

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**" Naruto let the water loose, but got the same result as last time, and it barely made a splash as it hit the tree. "Kami!" He snapped angrily as he watched the water fall harmlessly.

Yamato clucked his tongue disapprovingly; "There's nothing I can do to help you about this one. I created this technique during my training, and it's pretty hard; to get this right, it's just trial and error."

"How long did it take you to complete it?"

"…I think around two days…" Yamato glanced at him and noticed his surprised expression. "I doubt it'll take the same amount of time for you; everyone has different learning rates."

The blonde replied with a short "Got it" before continuing with his training.

"I'll be back there if you need me," Yamato gestured at a spot under a tree, where he subsequently sat down.

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**" Naruto shouted as he tried again and failed.

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**"

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**"

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**"

"**Water Release: Whirlwave!**"

Naruto's voice could be heard throughout the entire day as he practiced the technique.

* * *

"Naruto…wake up!"

The blonde was startled awake from his light sleep on the grass to find a certain pink-haired kunoichi standing above him, an expression of distaste etched onto her face. "You slept here? Really?"

Naruto rubbed the sleep from his eyes drowsily before propping himself up. "Eh…who're you?"

"Idiot!" The pink-haired girl cursed loudly, forcing all the sleep from Naruto. "Who do you think I am…?"

"Uh…Sakura…Agh! What time is it?!" Naruto jumped up hurriedly.

"Like 7:00 AM, stupid. Say, what were you doing sleeping here?" Sakura asked curiously.

"Huh?" He scratched his head. "Oh, I was training, and then I just fell asleep here, I was so tired, I guess."

"Well, you're not late, so that's fine."

"Wait…its 7:00 AM, right? OK, so I still have time to get there…"

"Get where-say, you're not planning to ditch us again, are you?"

"Sorry…" Naruto apologized quickly, "But I'm training with Yamato-sensei today." He turned and noticed a certain Uchiha leaning against a tree. "Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't move.

"Alright," Naruto shrugged, "I'm off. See ya!" He ran off quickly, kicking up a large dust cloud.

_Why the hell does he get special training and exemptions from team exercises? _Sasuke thought angrily as he watched Naruto run off. _I'm just as good as him, if not better!_

He glared angrily at the disappearing blonde.

* * *

"Good job, Naruto," Yamato approved after seeing Naruto successfully execute the Whirlwave move on an unfortunate tree. "You've almost mastered the Water element. However, you're not done yet."

"What's up next?" Naruto asked enthusiastically. "Some amazing and super powerful water dragon technique that I can use to beat Kakashi-sensei? A water armor thing that can like reflect all attacks? Oh no, maybe it's-"

Yamato chuckled lightly. "Nothing like that. You're going to be creating your own water technique, though, so you could do that."

"Ah…how am I going to do that?" Naruto looked at him doubtfully.

"By drawing upon your water affinity, and channeling it in a different way," Yamato intoned. "However, note that the technique you create should be practical for battle. It shouldn't be that hard; you've been learning pretty darn fast so far."

Naruto nodded. "I know that."

"Oh yes…one more thing. We'll have to suspend your training for a week after today, because your team needs to train together. It won't do for you to keep training and not getting in with your team. After all, teamwork is important-"

"WHAAAT?!" Naruto almost shouted in surprise, "No! I don't need their training!"

"You do, Naruto. So tomorrow you're starting some D-Rank missions with your team."  
"D-Rank?" Naruto sighed. "Far past my abilities, I'm sure," He said sarcastically while Yamato merely ignored him.

"Get started on your training," The Wood-Release user instructed to his student, who sighed and immediately took a pose, with his hands clasped in front of him in a praying like position. "Good. Now work on channeling your chakra into a water-like form…"

* * *

Somewhere, around a hundred miles away from Naruto was currently training, a silver-haired ninja was leaning against a large oak tree, his glasses glinting in the dark shadow of the forest while he observed his surroundings quietly. A crack came from the darkness, but if he was surprised, he didn't show it.

"So he sent you this time, huh, Jirobo?" The ninja said, unmoving, with a slight chuckle, shifting his body while still looking in the opposite direction. "Is he not taking this seriously?"

A man emerged from the shadows, his spiky orange hair casting off a slight glow while his chubby face showed an expression of irritation. "How could he take this seriously when you're involved?" Jirobo retorted sharply, making obscene gestures at the silver-haired ninja, who ignored them.

"We'll see if it's serious enough for him soon enough," The man replied confidently, not shifting from his position, "But the question is, are you trustworthy?"

"More trustworthy than you'll ever be," Jirobo growled loudly. "Milord has been suspecting of your actions, after all," His tone was menacing, but he failed to intimidate his colleague.

"I only wish the best for my colleagues and master," The man said without missing a beat, but Jirobo thought he caught a note of sarcasm in the reply. "Anyway, I trust you'll be sprinting back to the village when you receive my message." He paused. "I'm only going to say the message once, so listen carefully."

"A boy of the Uzumaki clan can use Wood Release."

"That's a crap load of bull," Jirobo cursed after a long pause, "The Senju Clan has all but died out, and no one can use that release!"

"Did they?" The silver-haired man raised his eyebrows. "Get going, now. Let him decide if it's, and I quote, 'a crap load of bull'." Jirobo merely growled hostilely, leaping up into the trees while his colleague chuckled, satisfied, before standing up and walking off into the clearing.

* * *

**Wow. I'm finally done with this chapter. This chapter was...really hard to write. My original plan for this chapter was pushed back to after the Wave Arc, because I don't want the plot to progress that fast. Next chapter will definitely be better and more interesting because it'll at least include the start of the Wave Arc.**

**By the way, school has started so the updates will come out slower. Besides I've decided to have a 5-story simultaneous work limit, so I'll only be working on 5 stories at a time. The 4 stories right now include The Strength of the Senju, The Wrong World, a High School DxD fic I'm working on but haven't published yet, and two other stories...**

**Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Review, please! I need feedback…and I'll try to reply to it. Thanks.**

**FlamingBlaze**


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